Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: recent literature.

A review of the literature of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for the last four years shows parsimonious progress in research and on other fronts. Prospective studies are steadily replacing retrospective investigations, and the assessment of measures used to determine symptomatology and response to treatment is becoming increasingly sophisticated. A major development was the publication in 1987 of DSM-III-R, which significantly revised the diagnostic criteria for ADHD and reconceptualized ADHD and related disorders. The authors review this area along with questions about the validity of the classification, conditions associated with ADHD, current etiological theories, differential diagnosis, and treatment.